An important development in North American trade matters not involving NAFTA happened this week. According to Reuters, Canada launched a complaint against the US last week, challenging Washington’s use of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. Tom Miles goes on to report that nearly 200 examples of alleged U.S. wrongdoing were reportedly alleged, though interestingly, the examples did not concern China, but other trading partners including China, India, Brazil and the European Union. The 32-page complaint “faulted technical details of the U.S. trade rule book, ranging from the treatment of export controls to the handling of split decisions at the six-member U.S. International Trade Commission.”
Canada has explained that the WTO legal action was in response to duties the United States has recently levied against Canada’s softwood lumber producers and part of a “broader litigation” to defend forestry jobs. The United States, in turn, reportedly argued that the suit would only undermine Canada’s own national interests by allowing a flood of Chinese goods into the US, displacing Canada’s exports.